I have always tried hard to be a good, submissive Christian wife in my 33 year marriage because I believed that was the right thing to do. However, my behavior fell far short of my intentions. I was much more proficient at being an openly critical complainer or a silently cold, bitter martyr than I was a cheerful encourager of my husband.
Mrs. Pearl opened my eyes to so many ways I was unintentionally sabotaging my marriage instead of building it up. The most vivid example that lingers in my mind is the story on pages 59-63 of a controlling, super spiritual wife who destroyed her family and lost her sanity because of her bitterness, all done in the name of Christianity! Through out her book, Mrs. Pearl reminds us that we each have 40,000 thoughts a day. If we allow our thoughts to stay on hurts, anger, complaints, criticism, fear, worry, self-pity, etc., the bitterness we produce will eventually turn into madness. Her header on page 62 states, Practice Makes "Awful" Perfectly Awful. This was very sobering to me!
She devotes many chapters to the wise practices of how to be thankful, joyful, cheerful, content, playful, forgiving, peaceful, merry, full of smiles and laughter. I drink all of this in and put it into practice it, but in time, forget and fall back into some old habits again. That is why I keep re-reading her book! Building a good marriage is a lot of work, but the efforts are very rewarding. I like myself so much better, as well as my husband! He loves being treated with respect and is better able to do what God has called him to do. I am a real help meet to him instead of the bane of his existence! I treat everyone else better, too, so they all benefit from my encouragement and joy.
So now you know why I highly recommend this book to any woman who wants her marriage to be "heaven on earth"!
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